The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Schlumbergera plant, botanically known as Schlumbergera truncata, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name ‘THOR-KIRI’.
Schlumbergera (formerly Zygocacatus) of the Cactaceae family, consists of 6 known species which are epiphtyic cacti and native to Brazil. Common names for Schlumbergera plants include: Crab Cactus for the cultivar's claw-like phylloclade margin, Thanksgiving Cactus for cultivars which bloom to November, and Christmas Cactus for cultivars which bloom in December.
The new Schlumbergera cultivar is a product of a controlled breeding program conducted by the inventor, Jørgen Kurt ANDERSEN, in Fyn, Denmark. The objective of the breeding program was to develop a new Schlumbergera cultivar with upright plant habit, freely branching habit and large flowers with a unique color combination.
The new Schlumbergera cultivar originated from an outcrossing made by the inventor, Jørgen Kurt ANDERSEN, in 2001 in Fyn, Denmark. The female or seed parent is an unnamed, unpatented Schlumbergera truncata cultivar. The male or pollen parent is an unnamed, unpatented Schlumbergera truncata cultivar. The new Schlumbergera cultivar was discovered and selected by the inventor as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the stated outcrossing in a controlled environment in 2002 in Fyn, Denmark, on the basis of its flower color and freely branching habit.
Asexual reproduction of the new Schlumbergera cultivar by phylloclade cuttings taken and propagated, and followed by trial production batches, was first performed in 23rd November 2001 in Fyn, Denmark, and has demonstrated that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed for the new cultivar are firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of asexual reproduction. The new cultivar reproduces true to type.